May 1, 2025: Gun wavers, annexation litigation, violent crime, appraisals
Weather
Based on the National Weather Service forecast in text and charts here's some advice:
Thursday: No worries about staying warm, but do whatever you like to do to stay dry—put up an umbrella, wear a raincoat, or dodge the raindrops. The temperature will hit a high of 73°F, but it looks like it's just going to rain and thunderstorm. The chances of rain are around 70% for most of the day.
Friday: Whatever you do on Thursday, do the same for Friday, because these two days look like weather twins. That means if you forget your umbrella on Thursday, try and forget it on Friday, too, and that way you will get equally wet on both days.
Sign up for weather alerts: Monroe County emergency alert system.
Roundup of recent articles
- Monroe County sheriff: 4 people detained after reportedly waving gun from car, pointing it at bystanders On Wednesday, reports started coming in from several locations (there's a map included) about people waving a gun at passersby. Monroe County sheriff's deputies and Bloomington police eventually located the car, stopped it and detained its four occupants.
- Bloomington annexation update: More briefs filed as cases grind forward The month of April included filings in both of Bloomington's annexation lawsuits—the trial on the merits for two of the areas, and the constitutional question for the other five areas. This article provides a breakdown.
- Police notebook: Bloomington chief reports violent crime down by 24.3% at State of City At the State of the City address in early April, Bloomington chief of police Mike Diekhoff reported a 23.4% drop in violent crime from 2023 to 2024. That was due mostly to a significant drop in aggravated assaults. Homicide, rape and robbery, which are the other categories of violent crime, remained basically steady. The article includes the trend for the last 25 years, based on FBI crime stats, which come with some caveats.
On the calendar
May Day Rally. There's a rally on Indiana University's campus in support of May Day, which is International Workers Day. The event starts at 5:45 p.m. on Thursday (May 1) with a gathering at IU Sample Gates. From there, around 6 p.m. there will be a march to Showalter Fountain, with the rally itself to start at 6:15 p.m. There will be a film screening of "Union" at the IU Cinema. That's a new documentary about union organizing at Amazon. The film costs $5 for students, $8 for non-students.
Appraisal of property as evidence on appeal. On the 10 a.m. Thursday (May 1) meeting agenda for Monroe County commissioners is an item that approves a $2,900 contract for the appraisal of the Dillon Apartments at 525 S. Patterson Drive. The appraisal is supposed to serve as evidence in an Indiana Board of Tax Review (IBTR) state appeal hearing for 2024 pay 2025 taxes. The appraisal will be done by Integra Realty Resources appraiser David Hall.
Election board meeting. On Thursday (May 1)., Monroe County's election board has a regular meeting scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Some discussion of the vote center plan is likely, but the second hearing and possible vote on vote centers is not scheduled until May 19.
Meet Odin!
Odin, the dog of wisdom... This very, very good boy is a lab-bully breed mix. Here's what the shelter staff have to say about Odin:
Odin is a handsome young dog who was found quite skinny and shy. Here at the shelter his gregarious personality has come out and he loves playing in the yard and getting pets. Some resource guarding of food was noted by the finder in a multi-dog household so helping Odin feel secure in his access to food would go a long way in helping him figure that out.
Photo Finish
Courthouse Square
The Photo Finish items are drawn from the B There section of the B Square website.
The geographic coverage of the B There section is pretty limited. Please consider occasionally contributing to The B Square's B There section some brief factual observations about the world outside your own head, as you go about your normal business. (Photos are optional for B There.) The mechanics of making a contribution are pretty straightforward—just let me know if you'd like to learn the ins and outs. If you're looking at this bulletin in your email inbox, you should be able to reach me by hitting Reply.
Thanks for reading. I hope your weekend is off to a great start!
Dave Askins
734-645-2633
dave@bsquarebulletin.com